Once Upon a Dream
by SierraSunshine
Summary: Knights in Shining Armor, Fair Madiens in distress, and of course more of those darn shifting planes of reality with a neat twist.
1. Chapter One

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters I am just trying to do something to keep me out of trouble * evil smirk*

A\N: this is my first fan fic, My name is Steph, I enjoy puppies, long walks in the park and Pina Coladas, getting caught in the rain…., flowers and world domination. But like I said before this is to keep me out of trouble and my mind from wandering around. And I think all of you should be grateful that I am doing this instead of the things going around in my head, no matter how bad this may be.

Once Upon A Dream

By 

SierraSunshine

"Once Upon a time there lived a beautiful princess named Briar Rose," Veronica recited to the Zanga children that surrounded her. They had known her all their lives and respected her so much. Whenever Veronica visited them she always read them bedtimes stories.

            "I didn't know she knew fairy tales," Marguerite said to Roxton as they sat near a fire.

"I suppose her parents told her them before they disappeared. I remember our mother telling William and me those stories when we were very young. Although I have to admit I enjoyed the adventure and swordfights over the "mushy" parts, but I was younger then, and much more naïve." He replied with a devious look in his eyes.

" Lord Roxton, I have a feeling you are much more of a romantic dreamer than you would lead us to believe" she said with a teasing curl of her lip. 

"Well, I could show you some of the things this dreamer has been dreaming each night of his beautiful princess." He said in a husky voice as he leaned in to kiss her. Marguerite's breath caught in her throat and she felt her chest tighten with anticipation. This man drove her absolutely off the edge, and she loved it. His lips barely touched hers when a scream was heard throughout the entire village. 

'_Ah, bloody hell'_ Roxton thought. "OH what is it now?!" he said as he jumped up and grabbed his rifle and followed the villagers toward the sound making sure Marguerite was right behind him.

As he reached the tent he saw a young man, barely 18, with a sword in his chest. "What in Heavens name has happened?" Challenger exclaimed as he rushed to the tent, "Oh heavens!" He immediately went to his side to check for a pulse. " He is alive but the pulse is very weak" he announced as Veronica arrived followed by Malone. 

"Rakel!" She cried, instantly falling to his side. Malone usually would feel a little twinge of jealousy, but the mans young age made him realize that they were no more than friends. He couldn't explain the feelings he had for her to himself. So how was he ever supposed to tell her? He thought he knew what love was when he was back in London with Gladys, but now, since the moment he had seen her, feelings he didn't know where inside of him came alive. Now he just had to sort those feelings out. He looked down at the man who was slowly slipping away as Challenger and the local shamans did whatever they could to save him. 

"Where do you think a sword like that came from?" Malone asked the others when they finally stepped out of the tent to make room for the professionals.

"Of what I saw that sword looked as if it had come from Camelot and the bloody Knights of the Round Table" Marguerite said with a little shudder as she remembered her own midevil experience.

"Do you think that Gawian could be back?" Veronica asked.

"Well even if he was, why would he do something like this?" Marguerite said forcefully," He is better than that. He is not like Vordred was." She shuddered at the memory of the knife that she had stopped from killing the young king who had found his way into her heart. She looked over at Roxton who was looking at her apparently lost in his memories of that day as well. 

"Well who else would have those kinds of weapons?" Roxton said with a little bit of anger evident in his voice, "You all know we have to figure out what is happening here. Whoever did this apparently isn't friendly, and I for one don't want to let them get another chance to hurt the Zangas or anyone else." As he said this he eyed Marguerite and moved a little closer to her in a protective manner. Marguerite loved it when he became protective and defensive of her, although she would never admit for the world. They all stood in silence as they pondered the possibilities of who had done this and the dangers they might face in the near future, as this incident, like all others on the plateau never had a neat, simple ending.

Just as Marguerite was about to break the silence, the sound of horse's hooves was heard. Roxton and Malone both grabbed a rifle, Marguerite grabbed her pistol, and Veronica grabbed a knife. They looked around and realized that the whole village was being surrounded. The Zanga realized it to and immediately got ready for the battle that was about to come. In a matter of seconds the village was being stormed by knights on horseback. 

"OH could this day get ANY better????!!!" Marguerite yelled as she started shooting at some of the knights and doing absolutely no good. "What do we do now??" She got as close to Roxton as she could and grabbed for his arm so they wouldn't be separated. 

Everyone was giving into panic. The situation looked hopeless. They braced themselves to be ready to fight back as much as they could to the oncoming stampede of horses. Then just as suddenly as they appeared, they disappeared. 

"What is going on?" Marguerite whispered. She looked around nerviously. " George, care to explain that one"

"Well I'm sure it's a…. It could most definitely be a ….umm… well, no, not at the moment," the professor stammered.

"The question is," the reporter said calmly still staring at the place the knights were charging only feet away seconds ago," are they going to be back"

"And what do they want" Roxton said, still in a mild state of shock. Marguerite still had a hand on his arm, and he 

became aware of it. He turned his face to hers, and could see the terror in her eyes. They sighed at the same moment, and a smile of relief came over her face. " That was too close for comfort," Marguerite said only loud enough for him to hear. He reached to put his arm around her, but he suddenly heard the sound again. Everyone turned and there was one lone knight galloping into the camp. Everyone immediately jumped into position again, and began to scan for any others out in the jungle. The rider did not stop and did not even seem to see them.  He rode by not being affected by any of the blows the natives where inflicting on him. He continued at the same pace until he reached the explorers. He abruptly stopped and looked down to Marguerite. 

"Princess, I hath come to rescue you from your captors, my love" he said as he dismounted the white horse, and put his sword to Roxton's neck in one quick motion. 

"She's not going anywhere with you," Roxton practically growled at the man. He kept his eyes focused on him. 

" Good sir, thou art mistaken," the knight yelled, " Thou hast kidnapped my true love and I will see to it that she is returned and that you shall be punished. But not after I have beaten you beyond recognition to defend her honor!" Marguerite just sat looking at all this. She had no idea what was going on, but the way this man spoke he seemed to want no harm to come to her. " I should kill you now!" the knight continued.

"NO!" Marguerite cried instantly. She knew the only way to get out of this was to play along." Don't harm him, my love, for thou are a knight of honor and should not reduce yourself to such. Leave him be, and let us be on our way." Her friends stared at her with total shock over their faces. '_WHAT IS SHE DOING?' _ Veronica screamed in her head. Roxton knew that she must have a plan but hearing her call this man 'my love' almost made his blood boil. Marguerite was his and he wasn't going to let her go easily. Marguerite mounted the horse and the knight followed. 

            "Thou art right, dearest love, we shall leave now. And if this scoundrel follows us he can be sure the Princess's words will not save you!" the knight threatened. Marguerite knew they would track her down, and she knew that this man apparently wanted 

no harm of any kind to come to her. Actually, his words were quite flattering. 

            Roxton immediately rushed after her, but he was stopped by his friends. " LET ME GO!!!" he screamed, " NO!" 

            "Roxton! We can follow her after an hour or so. I don't think he is going to hurt her but of course we will get her back. 

Calm down. If you go now he will kill us. Because if he didn't suffer any from those blows the Warriors gave him, we can't stop him either." Veronica said.

            " That's exactly the point Veronica, he apparently isn't normal. Any normal man would have been half dead from those blows. He didn't even get a bloody bruise!!!!!" He started running after the knight and his love, who were barely in sight, and as he yelled out her name, the horse and its riders disappeared literally before his eyes…..

TBC only if I get some positive reviews. No sense in finishing it if I write trashy fiction. I hate trashy fiction. Just to let you know I have read almost all the fiction for the Lost World  on this site and tlwfix.com and have finally decided to join the club. And I have been reading on the message board at lostworldtv.net and I can't post because the stupid thing wont let me register!!!!! I am sooo mad I cant post and ask questions to you experts out there.So tell me if you liked it, if you could understand it, or if the plot is just plan stupid, because to tell you the truth I didn't have a clue what I was going to write until I started and couldn't stop. It is going to be a surprise to me as much as you on how this turns out. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE review and be totally honest. I have a hard shell it won't hurt. I need to know. See ya later!


	2. Chapter Two

Disclaimer: Don't own them, YADA  YADA, Don't rub it in!

A\N : WOO HOO! ! ! ! You guys love me you really really love me. I can't believe it. * Tear*  I feel Pretty, Oh so Pretty! I was so worried that I was going to make a fool of myself. ….. and I guess I just did * embarrassed blush* Sorry about that. I just am really really happy!  I guess it was pretty good. I got some great reviews! THANK YOU! All of you! I used to think that the begs for reviews and all the sappy thank yous were a little weird, but I have seen the error in my ways! I have repented! I know now exactly the turmoil you authors go through and how good it feels for someone to say " Hey, kid, you did a good job." So I shall proceed. And as I type this I have no idea what is going to happen. Lets just see, shall we?

Roxton stood there for what felt like eternity. No thoughts ran through his head. He felt and saw and heard nothing. Then reality sunk in. All he could think was '_I have to get her back. I will get her back' _Where did they go? How in the world were they going to find them?    

"George!" he screamed as he rushed to the man and grabbed his coat, nearly lifting him off the ground. " Where are they? WHAT HAPPENED? YOU HAVE TO KNOW, WHAT HAPPENED?" 

"MAN!" Challenger barked. "Get control of yourself! We will do everything we can, you know that. She's our family." Roxton let go of him and tried to think clearly. "We WILL find her, George."

"Lets go check for and hoof prints, okay" Veronica said. She knew that these two loved each other, but she had no idea whether they had let each other know. She also knew Roxton would never give up. '_I would do the same for Ned' _She thought. As soon as she did she began to blush. She knew that she cared for Ned like no one else in her life. She felt naïve and silly though when she thought of her and Ned being anything more. Was love always this complicated? She pushed these thoughts from her mind and started looking at the tracks. "Well for a abnormal horseman that is indestructible, and vaporizing, these hoof marks are real enough"

"The sword felt real enough too, considering it was at my throat, but what about those other knights?" Roxton replied. " Let's go check for their tracks." They went over to the place where they saw the cavalry of horses charge them. Sure enough, there were tracks too. But some of them were starting to disappear. 

"Well this is going to make a story," Ned said under his breath. The comment gained him a threatening stare from Roxton and Veronica. He started to back away when Challenger cried, " Oh gracious! Come, look what I have found!"

 They rushed to his side, looking at what he was holding. "What is that?" Veronica asked. " I've never seen or heard anything about something like that before."

Challenger was holding a ring. "Not just any ring, but the 'Ring of the Crown of King Arthur'" Challenger read from the inscription. " Well, this is interesting."

"What does it mean?" Malone asked. Roxton took the ring from Challenger. "Yes, what does it mean? This isn't a knight's ring. This ring is the same size as Marguerite's" Roxton said solemnly. 

Marguerite felt a little woozy as they practically flew through the air. When she opened her eyes again they were still riding full speed through a meadow in bright daylight. She was beginning to worry now when she looked behind them and saw nothing familiar. Suddenly the horse began to slow. The man got off the horse and helped Marguerite down. 

"What is going on?" she asked. She turned to see the man staring at her. " I said what is going on? Where are we? And why did we stop?" She wasn't upset about stopping; she was worried why he was not afraid of stopping. Surely he would know that if they stopped the others would catch up with them. Unless he knew for some reason they wouldn't be able to catch them. Then she realized that she had never seen this man's face. The helmet he wore barely showed his eyes. She reached up and pulled away the helmet. He took it completely off. Then she saw him. He was… no it couldn't be.. he looked exactly like Roxton. 

Before she could say another word he reached down and kissed her. Her mind was completely mush. '_He looks like Roxton, he kisses like Roxton, which is quite good I must admit, but……' _ Finally she pulled away from him. She opened her mouth to speak but again he interrupted.

"You have no idea how much I suffered in my heart the last fortnight. I searched and searched for thee, but I could not find thee. I was almost out of my mind with worry for you. I love thee, my Princess, and I now know I could never live without thee. Please, dear Princess Madeline, marry me, Sir Richard, knight of the round. And before thou doth speak, let me tell thee I wish to marry you only from the love in my heart. I know of the many suitors and betrothed that thou hast had. They were only there for their position to the throne, but I shall do nothing of the kind. For I love thee, Princess Madeline, with all my heart and spirit for all my days."

Marguerites heart stopped. It was some of the most beautiful words she had ever heard spoken. And she knew that they were directed towards someone else. But hearing them come from Roxton's voice and seeing his face and eyes full of love as he spoke them made her heart stop. She stood there and as she became more aware of the eyes that stared into hers waiting for a reply, she did the only thing she could to get out of the situation, she fainted.

The explorers began to gather their things. They had convinced Roxton that the only way to find her without getting in more trouble was to wait till morning. He knew they were right but he couldn't stand knowing she was with him. It did ease his mind to know that he didn't want her harmed, but this man had the nerve to call his Marguerite 'Dearest Love.' If that scum laid one hand on her, lovingly or other wise, he would kill him. What made it worse is that Marguerite had played along. He knew she could sweet talk her way out of things. He knew she had been a spy for many countries and had to do a lot to get out of those situations. But if she played along to this man and let him get within a inch of her, Roxton was sure he wouldn't be able to spare her the anger he would pour out on her.

"Marguerite," he sighed as he picked up the ring," I love you. I've told you that before. I just hope you remember it. I wish I had you back right now. I would do anything for that."

He heard a woman scream in the jungle. He raced out of his tent and saw her, screaming and yelling, "They are going to kill me. Please save me!!" Roxton rushed to her, followed by the rest of the explorers. 

"Marguerite!" he called racing to her. He picked her up and swung her around. "I thought you were…" Then he realized that she was staring at him in complete shock and was wearing one of the most middle-aged outfits he had ever seen. 

"Richard!" she cried, "Is it really you?" she ran to his arms and kissed him. Now it was Roxton's turn to stare. Sure she felt real enough, and sounded real enough, and kissed real enough, but that wasn't Marguerite. And what had she called him, Richard? " They told me thou had died in battle a fortnight ago. I had given up hope thou would save me from my captors. But now thou art here, and my heart cries out in joy at the sight of thee." She cried. Tears were now pouring out of her eyes. Everyone else including Roxton just stood motionless.  " O heavens!" Challenger finally muttered. 

TBC…. REVIEW! Ok. Yeah it may be to short. I will try to write as much as I can. Thank you again for all the reviews. And just to let you know, it has been brought to my attention that a few of you find it disturbing that I like world domination. Give me a break people. Let me get out of school before you start worrying. And yes, I want world peace, just as long as I am ruler. Lol  See ya! P.S. REVIEW!


	3. Chapter Three

Disclaimer: I own these characters, yes, you heard right, I own them. "SHUT UP FRANK" "NO YOU SHUT UP" YOU!" " NO YOU!" ARRGGGH!  Ok Sorry My other side is trying to get out again. He is obsessed with world domination. Sorry no I don't own them!  " YES I DO!!!"

A/N: AWWWWW! I'm touched. The worse review I have had this whole time was just a simple question of if I wanted to rule the world so bad, why aren't I writing Pinky And the Brain fics. Good question. You see if I wrote down my ideas in fics than anyone could steal them. AND I KNOW THAT IS THE ONLY REASON YOU AREBEINGNICE TO ME!  You only want to get inside my ingenious brain and know my plans! But it WON'T WORK.  HAHAHAHAHHAHA. 'Ahem' Sorry I sounded like Challenger in Elixir their for a minute. Lol yeah...enough insanity. I might scare you off. *Evil grin * 

Oh one other thing, I am cutting back on the Thee's and Thou's, except for the points I feel they are appropriate. I feel it makes it harder to read. Plus I feel like I am writing the Bible. But if you like them tell me, and next chapter I will put them back in. Here Goes Nothing.

"My dearest, please wake up," Richard whispered as he held Marguerite in his arms. She was awake the whole time. She knew she had to 'come to' soon, but she didn't know what she was going to do next. What could have happened? She was just about fed up with Challengers damn shifting planes of reality. I guess the only way out of this was to tell the truth. At worst all he could do was think she was absolutely insane. 

" Ugh," she moaned," what happened?" She asked him. "You fainted, do you remember what happened before that?" He replied. "Um… actually I… uh… nope, not a thing, except you stole me from my friends and then nothing," she lied. Maybe at best he would think that the traumatic experience had triggered amnesia. "YOUR FRIENDS? Oh dear, my love, please tell me thou doth remember me! Thy own true love! The people of Florin, the land across the sea, kidnapped you from the castle while you were on your ride. I should have been there I promised I would, but I was caught in matters of the court. I have cursed myself a thousand times over for not being there to protect you. Please tell me they did not harm you." 

" I told you, I have no idea what you are talking about!" Marguerite said. "So please get your hands off of me! NOW!" She barked at him, maybe a little too sternly. He looked as if he was going to die. He slowly moved his hands from her waist. He swallowed and blinked back the tears. "Very well, Princess, I shall set up camp," he tried to say hiding the obvious hurt in his voice. " And STOP calling me Princess! My name is Marguerite Krux. I am not your Princess Madeline. I am not from this time and place. Where are we? England? Yes of course I would get off the bloody plateau almost 500 years too early! Look at me, I am not even wearing the same kind of damn clothes you are. I…." She trailed off, because as she said this her clothes changed into a royal robes definitely made for a princess of the Dark ages, tattered a little, but royal nonetheless. '_COULD THIS DAY GET ANY BETTER?????'_ She screamed in total frustration.  "NO NO NO every time I say that, It does! Why can't we ever just have a little peace? I just was beginning to be happy! Would it kill you guys up there to let us be happy for once? Roxton and I have just started loving each other openly. We only were together once in the 3 years we've been stuck on this plateau. So of course you pick this moment to pull us apart. Is this my punishment? Let me fall in love, accept it, tell him, act upon it, and RIP us apart? I get it! You pull me apart from the man I love two days after I find out I could be carrying his child? HOW COULD YOU??" She was definitely past the point of panic. She fell on the ground in a heap, heaving in sobs of grief. How could the fates be so cruel?   

Richard just stared at her. In total shock. What had happened? What had they done to her? And who's name had she said? Roxton?  What was going on? She said her name was Marguerite. She couldn't be. He reached over and put an arm around her. "Calm down…um Marguerite," He picked her into her arms and slightly rocked her back and forth until her sobs quieted into small sniffs. Soon she was asleep. She was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Well whatever the case, he would let her sleep and get his answers in the morning.

Roxton stared down at the woman who looked all too much alike his own love. She looked around and saw they had an audience. She looked closer and realized that the clothes they wore were unlike anything she had ever seen. "Oh, um…. Well, Richard, what are these things you are wearing? What happened? They told me you were dead. That the pirates of Florin had attacked your ship a few days before. I hadn't heard from you in a week before. I was so frightened.  I thought my life was over. I held on to hope that they were mistaken. I went out riding, I couldn't feel anything. Then I was kidnapped by those horrid men. But I knew you were still alive, I could still feel you. I knew then you were my true love," She stared into his eyes for a moment. He didn't say anything and it worried, who were these people with him? Could they even speak English? She looked down and saw that he was holding the ring around is little finger. "Richard, where ever did you find this?" she asked, amazed.

"You know what this is?" he replied. " Of Course I know what this is! It is the Ring of the Crown, silly! It is what marks me as Princess. My kidnappers took it and sent it to my father for proof they had me." 

"Princess?" Malone finally blurted out. All of a sudden everything was making sense. She looked at him.

"Well at least I know you speak." She said to Malone. Veronica was still trying to make herself realize that this woman was not Marguerite, but it was so hard. They looked exactly alike, down to the smallest scar. '_Just remember, her clothes are different, maybe that will help, concentrate on her clothes. This isn't the same woman'_ Just as she thought this, the elegant, but torn robes the Princess was wearing turned into Marguerite's everyday khaki skirt and blouse. '_Great' _Veronica thought. What are we going to do now?

TBC… I know kinda short not a WHOLE lot of info, but it will turn out…. As soon as I figure out what is going to happen next. OOOOO…. Funny just as I wrote this I just thought of what is going to happen! Now I have to figure out how to get there. LOL BYE! See ya!


	4. Chapter Four

Disclaimer: Not mine, never will be. Get it? Got it? Good.

A/n : Sorry about chapter three. There were lots of grammatical errors. I will try to fix it. And if it helps any, I was writing it like at 1 in the morning. Hey what can I say, I got inspired and I had to write it, or else I would be at a stand still. SOO I'm going to throw in as much info as I can this time, and get to the action.  THANK YOU ALL FOR REVIEWING. I love you guys! You really brighten my day! 

"So," the princess looked back at Roxton, " I asked where we are and what is going on? Why do you not look very happy to see me? Did you fall in love with another, with that half dressed wench over there?" she asked, pointing at Veronica for emphasis. Veronica wanted to rip her head off, but controlled herself to just asking, " We could be asking you the same thing, who are you, and where is our friend?" 

"What? Richard, tell these people who I am," the princess screeched. Roxton finally turned to her, and tried to avoid eye contact. It was too difficult. The more he looked at her the harder it was becoming to tell himself that she wasn't his Marguerite. "Princess," he began, " I am not Richard, my name is Lord John Rich—" he cut off when he realized that he didn't need to cause any more confusion by throwing in a meaningless middle name. "Lord John Roxton" he continued, " I don't know how to quite explain this, except that, you are indeed a princess, and I am sure you have a friend named Richard back home, but I am not him." 

She just stared at him in total confusion. What was he babbling about? "Well…ahhh. Challenger, can you explain this to her?" Roxton stammered. Challenger was being very quiet, and finally spoke up. "Oh, yes, I think I might have a theory. Well, you see my dear; you are now standing in the jungles of South America, on a lost plateau that continues to shift and change. I don't know how you did it, but somehow, you have gone through a plane of reality, that ended up leading you here. But it did not just bring you here, it made you travel a few hundred years into the future. And moments before you arrived, your knight, Sir Richard, came here demanding that we give him our friend, Marguerite Krux. Now I can see why. You look exactly like her. He must have thought we were your kidnappers. So I must figure out what is causing this particular plane to be moving here and how to penetrate it to get both you and our friend back to where you belong."

The princess stared at him in total disbelief and and are you CRAZY' look on her face. "You tell me I am in South America, but you lie to me. You think I am stupid because I am a woman? I have plenty of knowledge. At least enough to know that there is no such place as South America. And what unbelievable stories are you telling me? You lie. If my Richard had been here, he would have known the difference between me and some cheap pretender."

"No he wouldn't," Roxton spoke up, " Just as I couldn't tell the difference, and just as you couldn't tell that I am not Richard."

She finally sighed, "All right, you are not Richard and I am not in Avebury anymore, but…." She trailed off when she looked around. "This is the field of Florin," she cried, " I have seen the paintings my whole life, but I have never been here.  But this village full of half-dressed beast never lived here either." 

"What is the Field of Florin?" Malone asked.

"Find me a place to sit and I will tell you everything," the princess said.

Marguerite stared to stir awake. '_Where am I, who is holding me?'_  " Where's the coffee, Roxton?" she asked in her usual morning tone. Then she opened her eyes a bit. It all came back to her. "Oh boy," she sighed. She started to get up. "Did you hold me all night?" she asked him. 

"Yes," replied Richard. "You didn't sleep all night, did you?" she started to feel sorry for this man. She wished she could explain what had happened to him. She knew it was shifting planes of reality, but how do you go about explaining that to knight of King Arthur? "Thank you," she said softly.

"I have been thinking," he began to get up, obviously a little stiff from the uncomfortable position, " Maybe if I explain everything that has happened from my side, and you tell me everything you can from yours, we will discover what actually has happened." Truthfully he was hoping that she was just hysterical last night and if she talked about what had happened, she would remember everything. What hurt worse was that she didn't even remember his proposal. 

"All right," Marguerite began, "I am not your Princess Madeline, Sir Richard, and I am Marguerite Krux. I come from the year 1924, which you just rode into and took me from. I lived in England four years ago, but I went on a expedition to South America to –" She was cut off by Richard, " South America?" "Yes a land that in your times had not yet been discovered, and a lost world, that unfortunately, has not been discovered in mine either." She went on to explain all the wonders of the plateau, and Richard seemed to drink it in. She explained each one of her friends. But when she got to Roxton, he looked up startled, "Roxton?" he whispered, "Sir William Roxton? The richest man in Avebury next to the King himself?"

 "Well no," she replied, " Lord John Roxton, but yes he is one of the richest men in Avebury. His family estate is there. Are you telling me that his ancestors live here?" 

"Yes, well, I guess it is my turn to explain where we are," He was now thoroughly convinced she was not lying, something evil was going on, but what kind of magic could this be?

As they entered the Zanga village, she looked around in wonder. The people paid no special attention to her. A few even turned to tell their little group good night. When they came into Roxton's tent, they all sat down, and stared at her expectantly. " My name is Princess Madeline, heir to the throne of King Arthur. I live in my castle in Avebury, I ---" 

"Avebury?" Roxton asked. "Yes, and if your name really is Lord John Roxton, than you are most definitely kin to Sir William Roxton, one of the most prominent and richest men of Avebury." " Yes I guess I must be," he said absentmindedly. He had gone into deep thought. William Roxton? It couldn't be his brother, but he never remembered ever hearing of another William Roxton in his family tree. Unless it was the, no it couldn't be, but…. That was just a family legend. A fairy tale to darken the past. This William Roxton could not be the knight of the realm that had dishonored his family name by using black magic, but what other choice was there?

Madeline looked concerned at Roxton's deep stare. "Lord Roxton, are you alright?" Broken from his thoughts he stammered, "Oh, yes, quite, do go on." 

" As I was saying, I am the Princess. My true love is a knight of the realm. His name is Sir Richard.  He is one of the best knights in service to the King. He has been often called the Lionheart for his efforts of bravery. He was sent to preserve the peace in the lower regions of England a month ago. He was to return a fortnight later. But I was receiving letters and news of his progress was coming to me through the courtiers until two weeks ago. I inquired my father about Richard, but he told me they had heard nothing. A day later, they told me that the pirates of Florin, our sworn enemies across the sea, had taken his ship and killed him. I was distraught beyond all comprehension."

" But now that I know he is alive, I do not have to marry Lord Henry. He lives in Guilder. He has sought after my hand in marriage for years, along with many others wishing to become King when my father dies. But to no avail. I love only Richard. But while I went off riding, Richard had promised me he would be back to me by then, and he wanted to ride with me on that 

very day. As I entered the forest, I heard voices and I slowed my pace. Then what felt like a large club hit me from behind. When I woke, a band of thieves were surrounding me. When everyone slept, one man guarded me. It wasn't too terribly difficult to convince him we could do better things than stand around, and when he went to make a move toward me I tripped him and he hit his head. Luckily for me he was unconscious. 

_'Sounds like something Marguerite would try' _Roxton thought. He pushed the thought aside.

She continued, " I pulled the ropes free, and in an hour or so I was gone from the camp. Then I heard their shouts as they came after me. I ran as fast as I could. As I approached the field I felt a small shock. I thought nothing of it until now, I was too scared. Then I saw you, and I apologize for my behavior. I fear I have done a terrible thing. But please understand, my acts of affection were not intended for you, I meant no disrespect."

"Oh, do not worry about that, Princess. We all understand. The mistake could be easily made. I even thought you were my *ahem * OUR Marguerite." Roxton said. 

"Thank you. Now let me explain to you, wizard, about the Field of Florin." She said excitedly, turning towards Challenger.

"Oh, no I am not a wizard. I do not believe in magic. I am a scientist. There is nothing that has happened or ever will happen that cannot logically be explained by some scientific theory or experiment. Actually, --"

"Challenger!" the three explorers sighed. They knew once he was started, he wouldn't stop.

"Ahem, yes, I'm sorry." He apologized.

"Yes, **Scientist**," she stressed the name, trying to get the foreign word accustomed to her tongue. " Let me tell you of the Field of Florin. Like I have said, I have never been her, but I have seen paintings and heard the legends. Almost half a century ago, a great battle broke out between England and the Norwegian countries, but the greatest of these battles was in this very field. The fight between Avebury and Florin had not only political motives. Florin has been our enemy since before any of us could remember. But we prevailed that tragic day. We used military tactics unbeknownst to them. We ambushed them in the midst of battle. We deceived them. They thought we only had half the knights that we really did. We won, but quite dishonorably. It is fabled that on nights of the full moon the ghosts of those who died relive that battle. Everyone stays away from the field on full moons, and those who have gone here, have never come back."

"Ghosts! BAH!" George scoffed. Ned just kept writing. Sometime during the tale, the reporter couldn't resist the temptation to write down the details. Veronica thought for a moment. 

"Well if these 'ghost knights' ride every full moon why haven't the Zanga seen them before?" Veronica questioned. 

"Good Point" Roxton added," George, any theories yet?" 

" I think I do, yes maybe I do" Challenger replied with the look he always got before making another marvelous discovery. " I believe it is like radio waves. There are definitely lines of energy around this plateau. We also know that many things of history, such as the dinosaurs and the strange people we have seen over the past years, have been transported to this plateau. Well I believe this great battlefield could be one of them. The lines of energy run through this field and the actions of our time and space now and those of Madeline's are intercepting. Like radio waves. When they intercept they have a…. a.. 'static' so to speak. And when they do they cause a portal to open letting things in and out."

"Well how do we open this 'portal'?" asked Roxton.

" I suppose that it should be near the edges of the field, seeing as Marguerite disappeared near the edge of the forest, and that Madeline appeared as she emerged from the jungle into the field."

Roxton just sat there in disbelief. He had to get her back he would do anything. '_Hold on Marguerite, we are coming'_ he thought. How scared she must be right now. He cursed himself for not being able to help her.

AHHHH! Don't hurt me!  I know this chapter is SOOOOOO slow! Its just setting you up for the action I PROMISE will be in the next chapter. I will try to wrap this up I a few, but I am thinking about going off on another little thought that just occurred to me and there is no telling where that will lead. So I will see ya! PLEASE DON'T GIVE UP ON ME!!!!! I WILL DELIVER! Keep reviewing it helps me know you guys actually are still interested. At least I hope you are!


	5. Chapter Five

Disclaimer: I own them, I own them not. I own them, I own them not. Nope this flower says I don't own them, but I think this particular flower is just pessimistic.

A/N: Hey thanks for all the wonderful reviews again! I tell you, I have a newfound respect for the writers of TLW. Who else but these wonderful people come up with these complicated explanations for Challenger to come up with every week? It took me 15 darn minutes to think up and another 20 or so figuring out a way to explain it well enough. I don't know how you the writers or anyone else for that matter can do that.  But thank you again for the reviews

Marguerite and Richard rode toward Avebury. They didn't say a word to one another. Richard had just explained his story. He told her that he had been detained by a man named Sir James Dupree, a Frenchmen, who had lived the most recent years of his life in Guilder. James had convinced Richard that there was a conspiracy being formed against the king. Of course it was his duty to find out the truth and defend his King at all cost. He had written Madeline, and told him nothing more than he had a slight delay and would be home two weeks later than he had planned. But there turned out to be no such plan, and when he returned, the princess had been kidnapped.

Marguerite definitely wanted to meet this man. They knew that something was planned against them, so they decided the only way to get everything was to set back to normal was to figure out exactly who and what was causing this. And most importantly, how. 

Marguerite was to pretend to be Princess Madeline. _'Well, I've pretended to be worse,'_ she thought. 

"Maybe, you should fill me in on everyone. I mean if I am going to be your Princess Madeline, I think I should no at least some major facts about my life," Marguerite pointed out. 

"You are one of the most sought after women in all of London, some seek you for your exquisite beauty, others for your position to the throne, and some, like I, have loved you form afar from the moments our eyes met."

"When did "we" meet?" She asked. "When we were children. I was training to become a knight, I was only fourteen. You were nine or ten; you were playing on the standing stones when I rode by. I thought you were very pretty for a girl of your age. I didn't realize at the time who you were. I didn't again realize that it was you I saw until you were twenty-one and you were coming of age." 

"The standing stones of Avebury…" Marguerite whispered.

      ******************************************************

"I want to know who lied to me about Richard's death," Madeline said to Roxton, "You have no idea how much pain that put me through, so much agony."

Roxton smiled at that. How many times had he almost lost her? How many times had he just wanted to be with her with no interruptions, or dinosaurs, or cannibals, or headhunters, who's only purpose was to kill them. He had to admit, it just got damn irritating.

"We will find out," he said, _'We HAVE to'_ he thought. "We just need to get some sleep tonight. Go with Veronica, she will find a place for you to sleep."

"Good night, Lord Roxton," she called after him. "Good night," he said, not turning around.

        ************************************************************

"Well what else can you tell me?" Marguerite asked.

"Your dearest and closest friend is you lady-in-waiting, Victoria, who is madly in love with the town crier, Elliot. They make a comical pair. And your father's dearest friend, the wizard, of sorts, Chantler, who is always trying to explain away his magic. He is always trying something new and always having it cause some sort of destruction. He lives in the castle, works in the dungeon, and since he is so close to your father, feels it is his duty to constantly protect you when your father is absent.

You know once he even tried to replace the moat with some lightning rope," he laughed at this, "Very interesting man."

"Look!" he cried, "We are here. Are you ready?"

"As I'll ever be," she replied.

When they arrived at the castle walls, the drawbridge was immediately lowered. They were greeted by a whirlwind of excitement. Floods of people came to greet them. Then finally the crowd parted, and there was "her" father, King Arthur.

She stared at him in shock. "Arthur…..Summerlee?" she whispered under her breath.

 ****************************************************

The next morning the explorers were packed and ready to go at dawn. They started out north, going to the far edged of the field. 

"What are we going to do first?" Malone asked.

"I need to do some test to find where and when we can get through the plane. It should only be a few hours." Challenger replied. There was a crashing sound heard through the edges of the jungle.

"Raptors?" Malone asked.

"No, too small. It sounds like humans," Veronica said, never letting her eyes stray from the direction of the sound.

"What human would be stupid enough to make all that noise?" Roxton asked. Before anyone could answer, a man came crashing out through the jungle running like a mad man. 

"Blast those overgrown lizards," they heard him curse. When he spotted the group, he froze. "Well, well, well, fancy meeting you here," he grinned. "It's been much too long since I have seen you Ms. Krux."

_'Oh, no not today,'_ Roxton thought. "Am I supposed to know him?" Madeline asked under her breath. "Apparently so, but we don't," Roxton replied. _'Damn Marguerite's secrets' _he thought.

The man strode up to them. "Come, Come now, Marguerite, you look as if you've seen a ghost. I mean you really didn't think that by shooting me you could kill me that easily. I really thought you would know better than to leave without making sure that you mission is complete."

"James? James Dupree?" Madeline looked like she was about to pass out. "You know this man?" Challenger whispered. 

"Yes, I killed him 3 years ago" Madeline said in a flat dry tone. Her eyes, filled with hate, bore back into his.

"After all we meant to each other, you cant even remember my name?" he mocked in feigned hurt. "Jacob Dupree, at your service."

"Well, how did you get here?" Roxton asked, stepping between Madeline and Jacob. 

"Interesting question, you see Xan heard that you were still here, still alive so he wanted me to come back and give you something," Jacob said.

Roxton stepped to the side of Madeline as Jacob continued, "You see you had a deal with Xan, and he feels terrible about not bringing up his side of the deal, so I have come to give you this." At this he reached into his pocket, and before anyone could draw their weapons, produced a pistol. "Now you see if you want to shoot me, go ahead, but I promise that I will still get your precious Ms. Krux. So I suggest you put them down, slowly." They did as he said.  "So I guess I have you where I want you Ms. Krux, please come with me." He smiled. 

"No! She isn't going anywhere. Leave her alone!" Roxton screamed. Everything then went in slow motion. Jacob pointed his gun at Roxton. Madeline instinctively stepped in front of him; the gun went off and hit her in the stomach. Malone had got his gun during this and shot Dupree in the chest followed by a knife in the stomach from Veronica.

"NO!" Roxton cried. He cradled her his arms, "No NO! Why did you do that? Madeline, answer me! Madeline! MADELINE!" That was the last thing she heard before it went dark.

                                                                *************************************

"Welcome back my daughter," King Arthur cried, "You have been missed, I sent all my troops to find you, I had such high rewards for the one who found you, and now you are back. This is truly a joyous day!"

" I missed you too, Father," Marguerite said, hugging the old man. _'I do miss you, Summerlee,'_ she thought.

"Well, Sir Richard, my deepest thanks and gratitude for returning the Princess to her home. There will be a banquet in your honor tonight, where you will get your reward." The King continued, "Come let us prepare." With that he whisked Marguerite away from the crowds and away from Richard. _'Oh please don't forget anything, just this once, don't mess anything up. This would be so much easier if only Roxton where here. Where is he? I wonder if he is coming after me? What is he is hurt? Oh Roxton, please be all right. I love you.' _ When she came out of her thoughts she realized that she was in her chambers. 

The doors opened and in came a woman, looking exactly like Veronica. "Victoria!" Marguerite cried running to her. "Princess! I just heard you where back, are you all right, did they hurt you. Oh, the adventure you must have had!" 

"Yes I did have quite an adventure, but I am fine," Marguerite franticly tried to change the subject, " I must get ready for the banquet it is almost sundown already!" 

The rest of the afternoon, Marguerite was waited on hand and foot. All Marguerite could think about was Roxton. At nine, the banquet was to start. Marguerite and Richard were seated together, seeing as they were the guests of honor. As the guests started to arrive, Richard told her all their names and ranks. She tried her hardest to remember everyone.

Then Lord Henry entered. "That pompous ass had the audacity to show up here!" Richard seethed. 

"Who is that?" Marguerite asked, "He looks remarkably like my….. Fourth husband."

"Fourth??" Richard said shocked. "Yes, well, divorce apparently wasn't a popular thing around this time was it" she said, slightly ashamed. "I married him for his connections to France, he had lots of access to military secrets. Trust me I had more trouble with his…." Then she saw him. Jacob Dupree, that son of a …

"Marguerite, are you alright?" Richard asked.

"Who is that man standing next to Lord Henry?" She shot back without any hesitation.

"James Dupree, a very rich, very powerful Frenchman. Why do you ask?" Richard was worried now. Before she could answer people were coming toward them to congratulate Richard and the Princess. When one group of people left, another followed. This seemed to continue for hours, until the last two made their way towards them. 

"Lord Henry, it is an honor and a pleasure to see you as always," Marguerite smiled.

"Charmed, I'm sure," he replied in a flat tone and kissed her hand. "It seems that the feast is about to begin, shall we go out to the terrace and speak for a moment?"

Marguerite had a bad feeling about this. She looked at Richard. He nodded his approval. "Only if I come with her," Richard spoke up, " I wouldn't want any rumors about the Princess's honor to be started." 

"Of course," Dupree said grimly, with a slight smirk. Marguerite held on tightly to Richard's arm. _'Something is wrong. If Madeline did anything to them in this time like I did in mine, we are all dead.' _ Marguerite thought as they made their way to the terrace. 

TBC….. It feels like I write and write, but then there still isn't that much to read, stick with me the conclusions coming up soon. LOVE YOUR REVIEWS, keep'em coming. You don't know how much I appreciate them I am having a lot going on around here, so I will have the next chapter up soon, but you might have to wait a few days or a week. Sorry! Life calls. See ya! 


	6. Chapter Six

Disclaimer:  GUESS WHAT??? A lot of people own these characters… none of them are me.

A\N: I don't know if this is going to be the last chapter until I get finished. So we will find out at the end of this chapter. SOOOO…. Thanks for the reviews!!!!!! They really have helped me actually get the motivation to write this. I'm confused on how this is going to turn out too. So after a lot of thought. {LOL Yeah Right TONS of thought} I am going to proceed.

"So, Dupree, what is all of this about?" Richard asked. 

"Why, I thought the lovely Princess would have told you by now all about me. After all, she is the one responsible for my tragic death. Or has that little detail slipped your memory, Princess. I'm sure that your dear Sir Richard would love to hear all about it, shall I do the honors?

"Shut up, you bastard," Marguerite snapped. Even in this life he was as arrogant and repulsive as ever.

"Well I guess I shall proceed," he continued. "You see your lovely Madeline took many trips to Guilder about three years ago, did she not?"

"Yes, she did, but what does that have anything to do with --," Richard answered.

"Well you see, what she didn't tell you was what she was doing in Guilder. Most thought she was visiting cousins or learning of the latest fashions, but instead she was stealing military secrets from the French. From me, namely. All the time, I never knew you were the beautiful Princess Madeline, after all, I had just moved from France. But instead I thought you were just the pretty maid from Lancaster. I never dreamed that you would in time try to kill me."

Richard drew back at this and looked at Marguerite in shock. He whispered, "I knew 'you' could cheat and steal, but I never thought you would resort to killing someone." He looked at her hoping she had some explanation.

" **I **didn't resort to killing him. I was just supposed to leave, but he wouldn't let me go until he had what he wanted from me. But I sho--- stabbed him in the heart." Marguerite said, hoping that Madeline's encounter with this man was similar to hers.

" Yes, it is true, but you shouldn't lead a man on that way unless you intend on following through. You see my dear, when you stab someone in the heart, you must make sure they are completely gone before you leave. Luckily for me, and quite unfortunately for you, I survived, quite remarkably. And well, Lord Henry here, has kept me very well hidden from your knowledge. You really shouldn't turn a marriage proposal from such a powerful and jealous man like Lord Henry, so I was to have you killed. But I underestimated you, for the second time. A terrible mistake. And I intend on fixing it."

He drew his sword in one quick motion. Richard jumped towards him taking the sword completely through his left shoulder close to his heart. Marguerite screamed, and then a blur of people soon came around them, but Marguerite didn't notice.  She couldn't speak, she couldn't think. She just cried. She knelt next to Richard. "NO!" she screamed. "Please, oh God, No! Richard! Richard!" He was beginning to loose consciousness. 

"Madeline," he tried to say, but it came out as a small croak.

" No Richard, please."

He passed out.

             *************************************************************************

Challenger and Veronica were doing all they could for Madeline at the moment while Roxton and Malone made a stretcher. When they had finished, the started carrying her towards the Zanga village.

"Challenger, is she going to be ok?" Roxton finally dared himself to ask. He knew that many people shot at such a close range in such a sensitive area, didn't survive. 

"It's too soon to tell, but we have to get her to the Zanga village soon. I need to get that bullet out without doing any more damage. If it hit a major organ, well, I'm not sure I can repair it," he said grimly.

Roxton took in a short breath. Then the thought came to him, "George, do you think whatever happens to Madeline here affects what is happening to Marguerite there. I mean do you think that Marguerite is feeling pain wherever she is?"

"Interesting theory, Roxton. I really am not sure, but I hope not." 

"Me too." Roxton whispered.

                  ********************************************************************8

Richard was put in a room near Marguerite's. The men asked her to leave, but she refused. This was all too familiar. She had been in this position before. When that crazy man shot Roxton, and then had the nerve to give him no help. Ironically enough, it was in the same spot as his gun wound.

 The men who had carried him here had left and in walked Challenger, or if she remembered correctly, Chantler. The sight of him almost made her smile, not with relief. She never thought she would see Challenger dressed as a full-blown wizard. A total contradiction to the Challenger she knew. But Richard had told her, he was always inventing things. Maybe he wasn't so unlike Challenger anyway. 

"My dear, he should be all right, although, his arm may be of little use to him for a long while." Chantler said after looking him over and dressing the wound." Just give him rest."

"Thank you, Chantler," she said smiling.

                   ***********************************************************

When they reached the Zanga village, they immediately began to work. But Challenger insisted that Roxton wait outside. It was all he could do from going mad. _'What if she dies, what will happen to Marguerite? Will she die, will it make it impossible to get her back, will she be in pain?' _ The possibilities were endless, and they were about to devour Roxton. 

"Roxton," Veronica said. "Why don't you try to rest, she's in good hands. If I hear any news I will get you. As soon as they are done, I'll tell you. I promise."

"All right, Veronica, I can't take it anymore. I feel so helpless.  I will be in the next tent. Get me immediately if anything happens."

"I will."

Roxton went to lie down. He finally drifted off to sleep. He was making himself sick with worry.  He dreamt of Marguerite. 

                   **********************************************************************

Outside the tent, Veronica paced. She was just as worried as Roxton. Who knew the complications that could come from this? _'I knew I had a bad feeling about him, why didn't I see it coming. I could have stopped him.' _ Her thoughts were interrupted by Ned's voice.

"Veronica, please sit down."

"Ned I can't. This is my fault. I know to trust my instincts. Why didn't I this time?"

"You can't blame yourself. We all should know by now in a situation like that you can't trust anyone. We should have been ready. But you can't take all the blame." He put an arm around her and led her to a log. When they sat down there was a long silence. She looked up and met Ned's eyes. They stared a little longer.

"Veronica," Ned began, " I… I care about you a lot, and I know if anything ever happened to you, I don't know if I could live. What I'm trying to say is…"

"Ned, don't—"

" No, Veronica, I love you."

He kissed her gently.

"I love you too, Ned."

He leaned in to kiss her again but Challenger burst out of the tent. _'Now I know how poor Roxton feels,' _Malone thought.

"What's wrong, Challenger?" Veronica asked jumping up. 

"Where's Roxton?!?" he shot back.

"In his tent."

Challenger made a mad dash for his tent, followed by Veronica and Malone. 

                *************************************************************************

Marguerite sat beside Richard's bed. " You know the sooner you get better, the sooner we can get Madeline back."

He didn't stir. She felt his forehead. He was burning up. "Chantler!" she called. He came in a few moments later. "Chantler, he is burning up! What is going on?"

He felt Richard's forehead. "Oh heavens!" And with that he rushed out of the room. 

              ****************************************************************************

SOOOOOO….. how did you like that, yeah really short, but the last chapter should be up soon. !  I just cant write anymore for now, so this is where it ends. REVIEW! And for all you people that might have tried to review, but did have a signed thing, I have fixed that, so great news…. YOU CAN REVIEW TOO!!!! Aren't you soooooo happy! I know I am! 

Hmmmmm…. I wonder how I can explain what is happening. I sure hope so. I might have just dug my own grave. I really have no clue how I am going to fix this and end it so suggestions are very welcome. I'm sure I can think of something. Give me a few hours, I'll think of something. Well, I'm sorry it's been a few days. I had "plans" to prepare. * Evil laugh * As a very smart man once said, "Be afraid, be very afraid."   LOL 


	7. Author Note

Hey Quick Author Note, it has been brought to my attention by higher authorities that I have used names in my story that I did not create, but have used from somewhere else. I am supposed to tell you where, but for my own pleasure, I want to see who out there knows where I got the names Florin and Guilder. But I don't own them, I used them, I admit it. There now no one can sue me. Yeah and there is a huge weight lifted of my conscious. Lol yeah right what conscious?

Sierrasunshine


	8. Chapter Seven

Disclaimer: Don't own them. Get it? Got it? Good.

A\N: ALL RIGHT I ADMIT IT! I did not come up with the names Florin and Guilder. But I will give a sticker to whoever can tell me where I got them from!!!! I bet you can't. If not I will tell you next chapter. Yeah Thank you those 3 people who reviewed the last chapter I really appreciate. Spirita and svata2004 and Kat. Where are all you people who reviewed the first chapters? Did I lose you? I hope not. Here it goes.

A\N 2 : I am not a doctor or medical student, so some of this chapter may seem stupid and unlikely or even impossible to you much smarter people. I haven't got a clue what I am talking about, so just stick with me. This is my world remember and if I want things to happen this way, then the laws of nature and physics will just have to comply!

"ROXTON!" Challenger yelled as he entered the tent. 

Roxton bolted up and jumped out of the bed. "What happened? Is she ok"

"Yes, but I think that Madeline is actually still in Marguerite's body," Challenger said excitedly.

"What?" Roxton looked very confused.

" I think that when Madeline's clothing changed to Marguerite's she was actually trading bodies with Marguerite on her side. Don't you remember the tracks we found, they disappeared, they set themselves back to their original status."

"So why didn't Marguerite come back with her body?" Veronica asked from behind him.

" I suppose a soul is trapped on the side of the plane they are on." Challenger replied. He hadn't given much thought to that.

"But what makes you think that she is in Marguerite's body?" Malone asked.

"Well, um, Veronica and Malone, could you step outside for a moment?" Challenger asked.

They looked at each other and Malone shrugged as they walked outside.

"Roxton, I need to ask you a very personal question. Have you and Marguerite ever, oh, ever,"

Roxton could tell what he meant from the way he was blushing. "Yes Challenger, we have. Why do you ask?" he replied in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Well when we were getting the bullet out of her abdomen, I had to do some stitching of her organs and the shaman noticed that her ovaries were swollen, which could be a sign of –"

"Pregnancy?" Roxton felt like he could faint.  He sat down on the bed. 

"Are you all right?" Challenger bent down to face Roxton.

"Yes, I'm fine," he smiled, "But what makes you think that couldn't be Madeline's body still?"

"Well, it was very uncommon in Madeline's day to do such things before marriage, especially someone in such high standings as the Princess."

"Yes, but if that Princess is anything like Marguerite, we have no idea," Roxton smirked.

"Roxton!" Challenger admonished.

"Well, there is one way we could tell," Roxton said as he rushed out of the tent and went towards Madeline's.

                        *************************************************************

Chantler came back in the room minutes later. "Just as I suspected. He has been poisoned."

"Poisoned!" Marguerite screeched. "When did he get poisoned?"

"The blade of the sword was covered in a very dangerous and lethal toxin I don't know how to fight."

"So your saying you can't save him?" Marguerite yelled.

" It would take a miracle." Chantler replied.

"Fortunately a miracle is all I have to offer," a voice from the other side of the room came. A young man stepped in the door. He looked very rich and very distinguished. He was followed by a much older man.

" Sir William Roxton, what do you mean?" Chantler asked as he bowed in polite recognition. Marguerite stood and studied the man's face as he bowed and she curtsied in return. He looked nothing like John. _' I wonder if that is what his brother looks like,' _she thought. 

"I mean…. Magic."  He smirked. 

"BAH!" Chantler boomed.

"Sir," the older man that had followed him replied, " your father has warned you that if you do such things that your father will disinherit you. And above all else, you will dishonor the family name."

"Joseph, Honor and Inheritance is not worth a man's life, and not worth breaking the bond of true love," he smiled towards Marguerite's direction. 

_'Now that sounds like what Roxton would say.'_ She thought.

"Yes, but what kind of magic do you know that will stop a poison unbeknownst to even me?" Chantler said defensively.

"What you might call 'Black Magic', the cure to all ailments. But dear Princess, it will require your services." William said.

"Anything," Marguerite replied.

" I will return shortly," he said simply and walked out followed by Joseph who began shouting, "Sir William! Your father will hear about this!"

                                    *****************************************************

Roxton ran into Madeline's tent. "Her Birthmark," he said and with that turned he slightly to see her shoulder. " It's there. You're right, this is Marguerite's body." 

Challenger sighed, "Well, now we don't have to go in physically and pull Marguerite back to this plane, but how do you get a human soul to cross a plane of reality." 

Roxton knelt beside Madeline. There had to be a way, but how?

                                    ****************************************************

William returned in a few minutes holding a goblet. "Now all I need is true love's blood."

"Blood?" stammered Marguerite.

"Yes, only the blood of his true love, which seems to be you, Princess, if you don't think me presumptuous."

"All right," Marguerite picked up the knife sitting near the bed. _'What if only Madeline's blood works, I am not his true love, will my blood work?' _ She pricked her finger, and let a few drops fall into the goblet.

William gave Richard a few sips of it and left the room just as his father walked in. "WILLIAM!" his father boomed. " I TOLD YOU!" 

"LORD ROXTON!" Marguerite shouted. "If you do not mind there is a injured man here fighting for his life, and I do not appreciate you yelling like a mad man!" 

Everyone in the room stared at her in disbelief. She was definitely bold.

" Now please take your conversation outside!" Marguerite continued. Then she heard a small laugh behind her. She turned and saw Richard leaning on his good arm.

"You always were one to take charge, you stubborn little thing." He laughed louder.

"Richard!" she cried. "Lay back down, don't talk, you're not strong enough yet."

"I feel fine, except for the pain in my shoulder," he replied, lying back down grudgingly. 

"I think we have Sir William to thank for that." She replied, looking at William and a very shocked Lord Roxton and an even more perplexed Chantler.

"Here," said Richard, "take this ring. As a tribute to your family name." Marguerite looked at his ring as he handed it to William. __

_'That's John's ring,' _she gaped. 

She caught herself with her mouth open as she heard Lord Roxton still cursing William and threatening to rub out his name from the Roxton line as they left the room. 

Richard looked at Marguerite. "So tell me what happened while I was out," Richard said smiling.

                                    ****************************************************

Madeline stirred. Roxton looked up and took her hand. "Richard?" she mumbled. "No, it's Roxton. Madeline, are you alright?" 

" Oh, I'm just grand. I feel like I have been trampled by every horse in the whole bloody royal regiment, but I'm fine." She spat. "I'm sorry." 

"That's alright," John smiled, "It was a stupid question."

"I … I'm really tired, I'm going to go back to sleep now…" she said as she started to drift off again. 

"All right," Roxton smiled.

" I love you, Richard," Madeline sighed as she went back to sleep.

Roxton bit his lower lip and looked upward, " I love you, Marguerite," he sighed.

AT THE SAME TIME………..**********************************************

"So William saved you life," Marguerite concluded.

"But if you aren't Madeline, then how did your blood work in the potion?" he asked.

" I don't know. Unless I am in Madeline's body, but how would I know. She looks exactly like me."

"Not exactly, your birthmarks would be different, would they not?" 

"Birthmarks?" Marguerite said with a chill.

" It is to be believed to be the one thing that is different among every person. The places where angels kiss you before you are born. But it is just folklore. But it is a nice thing to believe." Richard smiled.

" No maybe it's true." She pulled down her sleeve off her shoulder.

"Marguerite!" Richard scorned as he turned his eyes away.

"Oh, I'm sorry I forgot." She chuckled. "Richard, it's not there! My birthmark isn't there! I am in Madeline's body!"

 Richard grabbed her hand and looked up to the ceiling. "I love you Madeline," he whispered.

"I love you, John," Marguerite whispered so low she could barely hear it.

Marguerite felt a tingling going through her, or Madeline's rather, body. "Richard," she gasped. " She felt like she was floating, but she knew she was still sitting. "What is going on?" 

Richard just stared at her, "What do you mean? Nothing is going on. Oh dear, nevermind!" 

Marguerite began to see her fingers glow. And then…….

Don't you love cliffhangers! HAHA! I promise the next chapter will be up soon! Unless you don't review! Then I guess I will have to wait. * evil grin * Lol. See ya!…….


	9. Chapter Eight

Disclaimer: nope not mine

A\N: HEY I am so sorry, I shouldn't have left you hanging out there high and dry, It was rude, and this chapter was written and ready to go yesterday. And literally seconds before I pressed the upload button. The hard drive on my computer crashed. I have spent the last 36 hours in surgery with my poor computer and it is ok now! But I have to re type this WHOLE chapter! And yes all of you who said The Princess Bride gets a sticker, so just give me your address, phone number, credit card number, date of birth, and photo ID, and you can have them. I guess good-byes are in order. I know it has been a long hard trip, and a very annoying one at times for you, but I really have enjoyed it, and I hope that you have too. *warm fuzzie * So without further ado, I give you the last chapter in our ongoing saga.

"Marguerite?" Richard started to get out of the bed slowly. "Are you all right?"

"I feel a little--" She collapsed on the floor.

"Marguerite! Wake up, Marguerite!" Her face glowed for a brief moment. Richard held her in his arms and started to lift her to the bed when she moaned. "Marguerite?" 

************************************************************************

"Madeline? Madeline!" Roxton whispered. "Madeline wake up!" she wasn't moving, but her face was glowing. "Challenger!" he barked. Frustrated, he picked Madeline up and raced outside.

"CHALLENGER!" he screamed. Challenger rushed out of a tent. "What? Oh Heavens! Set her by the fire, I will get the shaman." 

                                    **************************************************************************

"Richard?" she moaned, not opening her eyes. 

"Yes"

"Richard?" she opened her eyes. " Richard? Is it really you?" She sat up, " Am I really home?"

"Madeline! What happened?"

"I don't know, but I'm home and—"

"And?"

"And I'm with you." She looked up to his face. He leaned in to kiss her. Lightly at first, but grew deeper. When they finally broke the kiss, she was crying. She smiled at him. "I'm really home." She looked down at his shoulder, " Richard! What happened?"

"Nothing, love, I will tell you all about it later, but for now," he leaned into to kiss her again, but there was footsteps down the corridor. Richard jumped back into the bed just as the King entered the room.

"Sir Richard, I have yet to give you your reward for rescuing the Princess, twice," He said.

"Really, My King, I need no reward—"

"You will have my daughter's hand in marriage," He finished.

"Oh Father!" she rushed to hug him, and turned to smile at Richard.

                                    ****************************************************************************

She grew very still and limp in his arms and Roxton tried to fight the panic that was rising in his chest he finally saw the slow, faint rising of her chest.__

Finally she stirred. "Are you alright?" he asked her.

"Richard?"

"No Madeline, it's me, Roxton."

She opened her eyes. "Roxton!" she pulled herself up and ignored the pain in her abdomen. She put a hand to his face. "It's really you! I'm really home!"

"Marguerite!" he cried gathering her up in his arms. He swallowed the tears coming to his eyes.

"I can't believe it, how did I get home? I was afraid I would never see you again, that you would give up," She whispered slowly regaining her strength.

"Give up? Never, my love" Roxton kissed the tears streaming down her cheeks.

"I love you, John," She said as she wrapped her arms around his neck

"Marry me, Marguerite," he whispered into her hair.

She pulled away from him to look into his eyes. 

"Please, I love you Marguerite, do me the honor of being my wife," he begged, never looking away from her eyes.

"Oh John," she kissed him, deeply and passionately, " Yes, forever."

Marguerite moved her head to his shoulder and lay in his arms for a few minutes, enjoying the safety and comfort of his strong arms, and slowly the exhaustion set in and she drifted off to sleep.

Challenger, followed by the shaman, rushed around the corner, and at seeing the two kissing, stopped in his tracks and herded the shaman back, "Oh, I'm sorry, it seems everything is quite alright," he said. _'Well, I suppose we have our Darling Marguerite back, I will have to find out exactly how this occurred, this is simply amazing,' he thought as he went back to his tent._

                                                ***************************************************************

Marguerite stirred, _'Oh another beautiful morning'_ she thought sarcastically. _'Where am I again? Oh yes, that's John's shoulder I am using as a pillow, Now what day is it, not that it matter's in this wretched place. Alright, I was talking with John and Veronica was telling stories and then… what? Oh then I must have fallen asleep, no I … did all that really happen? It must have been a dream, but then I guess John didn't really ask me to marry him. Ah, drat, just more wishful thinking.'_

John grunted as the light started to shine in his eyes. The log he was using to lean against was beginning to cut into his back. Marguerite opened her eyes and started to lift her head off his shoulder. 

"Good Morning, Princess," Roxton grinned.

Marguerite snapped her head and scowled, '_Maybe it really did happen,' she thought._

"I was only joking," he defended himself.

"Oh, I'm sorry it's nothing, John, I am just a little disoriented this morning," she apologized.

She sighed and rested her head back onto John's shoulder.  She looked at the sunrise, _'It's kind of beautiful, maybe this plateau isn't__ that bad after all, but it's certainly no place to raise a child.'  She thought much to her own surprise. '_Come on , Marguerite, you have to tell him sometime, better now than never, you can't hide it for very much longer. But… what if it changes the way he feels for me. I mean my other husbands never gave me another thought after they found there could be a possibility of a new bundle of joy coming. How could I possibly accept him loving me when I am not telling him everything?'__

"Beautiful isn't it?" he asked her.

"Huh?"

"The sunrise"

"Oh"

"Penny for your thoughts. Marguerite," He looked down to her.

'_Here goes nothing,' _she thought. "Well John, I …"

"Yes"

"John, do you love me?"

He pulled away to look at her face, "Of course, I love you, Why do you have to ask? Have I not proved it enough to you?"

"No John, you have, it's just…"

"Just what?" 

"Would you love me even if I … I was pregnant?"

Roxton looked shocked. _'I knew this would happen. He is furious,' _she thought. Then a smile spread across his face. 

"So you really are? You mean you, we are, really?"

"You're not angry?"

"Angry?!?! I'm the happiest man alive!" He held him to his chest and kissed the top of her head. "Why would I ever be angry? The woman I love is going to have my child, what more could I ask for?"

"John," she started to pull away and felt a pain in her side. "Damn, what is that?" She pulled opened her blouse to see a long trail of stitches down her stomach. "Roxton? What happened? When did this happen?" 

"When you traded bodies with Madeline, or more correctly Princess Madeline," he said. "Are you alright does it hurt much?"

"It hurts like hell, but— wait, I really did trade bodies with that princess, and Richard really saved my life, and you really asked me to marry you?"

"Yes, Marguerite,"

"So it wasn't just a dream?"

"No, do you remember everything that happened?"

"Well," she thought for a moment, "Yes I do."

"So how did this Richard save your life?"

"Well, how did you know about Princess Madeline?"

"Well maybe we should sort this out now before the others wake up" Roxton offered. He told her everything about Madeline and what had happened with Dupree, and how Challenger told him about Marguerite's possible pregnancy.

"So you knew all along? I mean before you asked me to marry you?"

"Well I didn't know for sure, it was only a possibility, and I don't care if you were or weren't, I still would have asked you to be my wife, I was just waiting for the right moment."

"So you thought the right moment was when I had just traded bodies with a bloody mid-evil princess?"

"Now Marguerite, this isn't going to be our first fight as an engaged couple now is it?"

"No I suppose it isn't." she smiled, "But still I wonder, how did I get back?"

"I don't know, I one second Madeline was lying asleep on her cot, and then her face started glowing and she got very still and then you were here."

"The last thing I remember is sitting by Richard's bed and—"

"Bed?"

"Roxton, really, I never thought you to be the jealous sort," she said sarcastically. "Well for your information, he was wounded trying to save me from a earlier form of Dupree, which is more than I can say you did for Madeline, or me rather" she grimaced in pain again.

John looked down.

"Oh John," she tilted his chin back up with a finger, "I know you did everything you could for her, I know you would do anything to protect all of us, I really shouldn't have said that. You take most of the blows for all of us. Don't go feeling guilty," she kissed him gently.

"Yes but if anything happened that will hurt our baby, I don't know if I can forgive myself for not stopping that bullet at all cost."

"John," she sighed, " the baby is going to be fine, I know it, It's a mother thing, but I know how much you love me, and this baby, Its going to be alright, don't worry."

He smiled weakly and kissed her again. The kiss grew deeper, Marguerite put her arms around his neck and put her fingers in his hair. He put a hand up to her face. Marguerite's side burned in pain, but she ignored it. They heard people approaching so they abruptly ended the kiss and returned to their original positions.

Veronica and Ned came around the corner of a tent, apparently they had seen them, because Veronica was smiling, and Malone wore his usual embarrassed grin he always had when he was  caught looking at something he felt he shouldn't have witnessed. 

"Marguerite?" Veronica asked.

"Yes" she grinned.

Veronica rushed to her, "I'm so glad your back, but, how?"

"We're not quite sure of that ourselves, One second she's Madeline, the next Marguerite." Roxton replied.

Challenger joined the group, "Well Marguerite it is good to have you back home, although how you did it would be a mystery I can't wait to solve"

"I can" she replied shortly, "but I wonder, Challenger, do you believe in true love?"

"Why of course, but I'm not so sure that true love can pull you from planes of reality,"

"I wouldn't bet my life on it," Marguerite replied, "we've seen stranger things."

"Well, let's go home," Veronica said "We can figure it out there, I don't know about you, but I would to prefer to get away from this place for a while. I'll go say good-bye to Assai." 

                                                **********************************************************************

Twenty minutes later, the explorers were steadily walking towards the treehouse. Roxton had his arm around Marguerite, "for support of course." 

"Well, my Princess, when do you want to have this glorious wedding of ours?"

"I would say when we get back to England, but I don't know, give me time," she replied. She stumbled on a root and Roxton caught her before she fell.

"My knight in shining armor," she whispered as she looked up to see his face.

Behind them, Veronica reached for Malone's hand, and sighed, "And they all lived happily ever after"

                                                                        The End.

                                                                                    SierraSunshine

                                                                                                See Ya!


	10. WAIT! Read this!

One last little Note to all of you who have made it this far.  #1 all of you nice people who have been sending me email trying to get me to tell you my age, sorry, not going to happen and I think it was downright rude of you to ask in the first place, J/k.  I mean come on, How smart do I sound? I couldn't be that old.

#2 I want to thank you all again for your reviews, everytime I read them I get a warm fuzzie and a big smile.

#3 I want to apologize again for the cliffhangers again, I mean I don't know if you guys were really mad at me, but I thought that if I ended in those certain spots you would read more. Especially Spirita who sounded so desperate, I hope that last chapter made up for the wait.

#4 Just because the story is over doesn't mean I don't want reviews! I have gotten some nasty little reviews, which have bee tastefully deleted because of the language, and like I said at the beginning, if I write trash I want to know it, and know how to fix it, because this is definitely a good hobby to be into. So long, farewell, auf weidershen, good bye, I leave and heave a sigh and say GOODBYE!

p.s the last line belongs to Rogers and Hammerstein for all you nick picky little copyright law enforcers! You know when I take over the world, I think you shall be the first to go! 


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